itty bitty all grown up
by leeroyMcTavish
Summary: Natalie is a 15year old muso who moves out of home to complete a special uni course while at high school. Along the way she makes friends, some enemies and a love interest. Will she win him over, is there such thing as an aussie drum line and which is bet


Hey. It might not seem like it at first but this is a marching band fic. Promise.

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Natalie stared down at her mobile phone and the text message displayed on there.

Hey nat. u got in!

Congrats mr.

Carryway just

told me.

It was lunch time at Harcourt Senior High School Natalie's sister had just texted her telling her she had gotten into the special music program at Mt Constance Senior High School in the city. A million thoughts raced through her head _I got in! I have to leave home. I'm hungry. I got in. I wonder what my friends will think. Ahh I have to start at a new school._

"Hey Nat what's up? You've been staring at you're phone for a while now."

Natalie looked up into the concerned face of one of her best friends.

"Guess what Bekkie? I got in!" she tried to sound excited but it came out more like she needed to go to the loo.

"Got in? As in the cert 4 course, at WAPPA?"

Natalie nodded

"Oh my goodness. Go you!" she shrieked.

"What is it?"

"What happened?"

"Do you have to be so loud?"

"Did he ask you out?"

Bekkie was suddenly bombarded by all 13 other people in the group.

"GUYS! Calm down and Natalie might tell you then" the noise stopped suddenly and Natalie looked around her group of friends, she was going to miss them terribly. Kelly and Zoë with their story writing and fantasy worlds. Brendan and Kayla, the cutest couple. Lola and the twins, Daniela and Tamara. Katherine and Kassy with their crazy schemes, Jess and Emma and their boy obsessions, kaylen too. And most of all Bekkie.

"Guys" she took a deep breath "I'm not coming back next year" there was an outburst of noise. She held up her hands and as the groups unofficial leader they fell quiet. "I got in to the cert 4 course at WAAPA and Mt Constance." They all looked at her sadly, and the silence continued for several minutes only to be broken by the siren signalling the end of lunch.

"Congratulations Nat" whispered Katherine softly as they parted ways for class.

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Natalie sighed and looked around her new bedroom. It was stylish, her parents had fixed it up for her before she had moved in. it was now a very pale yellow with pastel purple trimmings. The room had a large window that over looked the courtyard in the backyard and was quiet spacious. She had a new double bed that was a four poster, (it had taken a lot of convincing to get that from her parents) and her new frangipanni doona complemented her room nicely. Amongst the necessities of a girls room like a wardrobe and a vanity, both elegant Victorian style. She had a study desk, a computer desk with her pc computer and her Macintosh laptop. (She hated Macs but they had good music programs on them and she had won one.) She also had a set of shelves that contained all her art stuff and music things. She had also in one corner a music stand; a trombone (on its stand) and a trumpet. There was also an upright piano along one wall. Her room used to be the music room, before she moved in.

She sighed and got up out of bed, it was early in the morning but the park right next door to the house was calling her to go jogging. She threw on some shorts and a tank top and quietly left the house, it was only 6:30 in the morning and she knew that her sister wasn't a morning person; well actually she wasn't a morning person either but she had woken up early for some reason. She stepped onto the green grass of the park and breathed in the fresh morning scent of gum trees and wattles. She loved the morning but she was hardly ever able to appreciate it, she stopped on a nice patch of grass and started to stretch, going through her whole body starting from her legs and finishing with the stretches she used for playing her trombone. She then moved over to the path and started to jog.

The park was a large one, located on the end of the block that Natalie's house was on, it was full of native plants and paths that wound around and snaked through the trees like animal trails she walked on back in her country home town York. There weren't very many people out and about in the morning but the few wise people that decided to walk their dogs now instead of in the 40 degree heat, waved at Natalie out of politeness and kept on walking. Natalie jogged for a full 15 minutes before slowing down to a walk and she walked for 5 minutes before jogging again for 15. By the time she had done this she had gone around the whole park twice and finished back where she stared, she then cooled down but stretching again and walked back home. She let her self in and heard the sound of her sister singing in her shower. She ran up starts and grabbed her things so she could beat her sister's house mates and best friends; Annette and Sarah to the shower but realized that they had their own en suites anyways.

Natalie wasn't used to such a big house; the house she lived in York was very small with only one bathroom for six people. They had, had it before they had gotten rich; they had been too attached to the house to move out.

The house Natalie was living in now, her parents had bought for their children's future use, starting last year with Kitty who gladly moved out of her tiny flat and into the spacious house, she also invited her friends to live with her. The house was a 2 story house with an attic and basement. It had 3 bedrooms with en suites, a bathroom, and Natalie's room. The rooms where in the corners around the house and the bathroom was in the middle near the stair case. Downstairs consisted of a tiny kitchen, huge dinning room, entertainment room, sitting room and a guest room. Out the back was a laundry and washing line as well as the courtyard and a garden with a pool. The attic was a storage room and Natalie's art studio. The house also had a fire place in the dining room, sitting room, and Natalie's bedroom, which Natalie loved unfortunately it, was summer so she wouldn't be using it for a while. The house had also been chosen for location. It was right near Mt Constance Senior High School, which in turn was on the same block as Mt Constance's Edith Cowan University campus, where the certificate 4 course was run.

Yup that's right fifteen year old Natalie was going to university as well as high school. Her sister was currently teaching at Mt Constance and had informed Natalie of the 5 year old program and encouraged her to audition for it. So she did and she got in and was starting at the school in 3 days time. To say the least she was nervous, she was going to a completely new school at the start of her tee and she was dreading that no one would want to befriend the weird country chick.

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Natalie thundered down the stairs and swung her self over the rail at the landing and landed with a thud on the floor just outside the kitchen. "Natalie!" kitty screeched "hurry up or you will be late"

"Yeah, yeah I'm coming sheesh" Natalie swooped into the kitchen and grabbed her lunch out of the fridge. She then walked out side to where her impatient sister was waiting with their bicycles. "See I'm here." Kitty just rolled her eyes and rode away.

"Hey wait up. Hey!"

Natalie finally caught up with her just before they reached the school. Puffing slightly she chained up her bike and walked after the waiting woman. As they walked onto school grounds Natalie couldn't help but smirk at the colour scheme. The buildings were all different colours, bright yellow, blue, orange and purple to name a few. There also were giant sculptures in the gardens and walk ways.

"What are you laughing at?" kitty asked

"Nothing, nothing at all" replied Natalie stifling laughter. Kitty just sniffed

"Well you need to make your way to the gym for the year 11 start of school assembly."

"Right, see ya" Natalie moved in the direction of the gym, she had seen a map of the school and had memorized it so she wouldn't look like a total fool on her first day. She entered the gym and gazed around her, there were many year 11's scattered around the place, sitting in groups on the carpeted bleachers or standing on the rubber floor. She moved to the edge of the bleachers and sat down on the edge placing her messenger bag on her feet and started to fiddle with the many badges pinned onto it. (Most of them music related).

"Hey, are you kitty's sister" Natalie looked up as the deep voice startled her out of her thoughts.

"Yeah I am" she replied looking at the red headed boy who spoke "how'd you guess"

The red head laughed "well you look like her, sort of. And you have musician written all over you"

"I do? Last time I looked I had Mt Constance Senior High School written all over me." the red head laughed

"True" he said.

It was true. The government school had gone to a privet style school uniform with blazers, v neck jumpers, stockings, skirts, and blouses, but they kept to state school uniform somewhat and allowed the girls to wear dress shorts and pants that had the initials of the school embroidered on them. On her first day Natalie was wearing the school skirt, the school ankle socks, the short sleeved blouse, tie and the black lace up shoes. She had also run a ribbon through her now very short hair. That was the school colours of white, pink and navy blue.

"May I have you attention please 11's" a slow hush descended on the teenagers and the red headed boy sat down next to her. the man up the front started to explain their "duties" now that they were in year 11. Natalie tuned out having heard this speech on the last day of her old school and she started to look around the crowed.

"I'm Tim, by the way" he red headed companion whispered to her as the speaker changed and a smatter of applause died.

Natalie smiled "I'm Natalie."

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Natalie sighed and flopped down on her bed, it had been a long day and she was now very hyper active thanks to the coffee she had gotten after school with Tim and his friends.

It turned out that she had her first class with Tim and together they had pushed their way to the music room for the year 11 TEE music class that was run by none other than Kitty. She had given Tim and Natalie a weird look as they walk in together but discarded it as the rest of the students came in. They had all introduced themselves and what instrument they played and Natalie discovered that she was the only brass muso in the class.

After music was English which Tim was also in. In that class Tim had introduced her to one of his friends Arnold whom Natalie found out was a quirky guy that used the fact that he was Asian as the basis for many of his jokes.

After English was lunch one and she sat with Tim and Arnold as well as two other guys; Mazola and Tim (yes another Tim). They fooled around under a tree on the edge of the soccer oval until it was time for period 3, physics.

The other Tim and Mazola where in the same class so she sat with them and took notes from their Canadian physics teacher.

After that was chem. she and the other Tim spent the lesson making fun of their not so competent chemistry teacher.

At lunch two and kitty grabbed her and introduced her to the rest of the music staff then took her over to clusters café at the university for lunch.

She then had her other music class (this class was for uni but was run at the school) that dealt with the theory component of her uni course, she didn't know anyone in her class but there were many new people in it as well so they all got introduced and then started on working out a repertoire for their ensemble.

School finished at 3:05 and Tim found Natalie outside the music department and invited her to go into the city with him and his mates for coffee.

"Natalie" some thudded up the stairs. It was Annette, "kitty needs you to go to Casawells and buy her some reeds." Annette handed Natalie a $20 note and left. Natalie sighed and got up, then changed out of her school uniform and into a comfy pair of skinny leg jeans, some knee high boots and a WAAPA shirt that kitty had given her; she then left the house and caught the bus to the local music store Casawells. Upon entering she walked straight to the percussion section and started drooling over all the drums. It had been a secret dream of hers to march in a drum line after seeing a few half time videos from when kitty had gone to America.

"Can I help you" I young guy with an American accent broke through Natalie's day dream over some quints that where sitting there.

"Uh, no just looking"

"Would you like to try?" the question startled Natalie

"Er...I don't exactly know how to play" she blushed as the guy grinned at her.

"Don't worry I'll give you some help" and before she knew it she was harnessed and loaded with a set of quints and had some mallets in her hands.

"Ok I will teach you a simple cadence called yo' banana" Natalie raised her eyebrows at the name but proceeded to learn and very soon she could play the cadence. She was grinning like and idiot and the mallets felt like they where flying in her hands and she continued playing even when the guy joined in on another set of quints. While this was happening she didn't notice a man in his 30's look at her strangely then make a call on his mobile phone.

10 minutes later Natalie walked out of the music shop with a box of tenor sax 2 1/2 reeds and a smile plastered on her face. Before she gone too far away the same man that had been watching her stopped her with a shout. She froze and turned around to face him.

"Can I help you?" she asked politely

"Are you in a drum line?" the man asked excitedly.

"I wasn't aware there where any drum lines in Perth."

"I will take that as a no then" he looked at her sizing her up. "Would you like to be in one?"

"er I would, yes"

"Well as band director of Scotch collage I would like you to join our drum line"

" umm Ok, not to be rude but how do I know this isn't a joke"

"True, hear this will help" the man presented a card that showed he was a teacher at scotch collage.

"Well Mr. Patterson I would really like that. But isn't Scotch collage an all boys school?"

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What do you think? Please let me know


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